Recommendation: Noah's Bark doggy daycare

[LisaSam]

Not too many reviews here for doggy daycare, and I know I was really panicked about this in the lead up to getting my pup, so thought I'd put this up because I don't know what we would have done if we hadn't found Noah's Bark.

Noah's Bark is run by Emma, with help from her partner Sam, from their large house with a huge garden in South Norwood. Roma also comes to help during the day. The setup is amazing - cosy for when the dogs are sleepy and a lot of fun to run around and play in when they are active. The doggos also go out for walks in small groups during the day. Emma does pick up and drop off in a kitted out van and is always reliable.

I cannot thank Emma enough for all that she's done for our little pup, Tucker. He's been at Noah's Bark for three months now, since he was a bit over four months old.

Originally we had arranged for in-home care for him, after I took a couple of weeks off work to settle him in. But these arrangements weren't working out as I'd hoped.

Tucker, a spaniel mix, is our first dog and our original understanding from what we'd read had been that it's best to avoid daycare for puppies if you can because they can learn bad habits from other dogs and puppies in particular won't get enough sleep from all the excitement being around other dogs, making them constantly wired and untrainable by the time they get home. But as mentioned, the plans we'd envisaged involving in-home care and walks just weren't panning out.

We asked the dog behaviourist we've been working with about daycares to consider and she pointed us in the direction of Noah's Bark, and thank goodness she did. I am so grateful Emma had space for our pup.

Emma is particularly sensitive to the needs of puppies and to group cohesiveness. She is focused on ensuring that the puppies sleep and that their play doesn't get out of control, e.g. time limiting interactions if it's likely a pup will give overexcited. Also, her setup is great, being a small group in her home, while being very professionally run.

We'd also identified other daycares that are in the countryside, but then the dogs are in a van for a long time each way and it's more like paddocks and cabins, with many more dogs, rather than a home. I can't imagine that is as conducive to close supervision and bonding, not to mention sleep.

Tucker initially had some issues fitting into the pack, and required work from us with consistent training at home and from Emma to ensure he had the reinforcement to do the right thing, playing nicely with the group. Two to three weeks later, he was doing wonderfully. Now that it's month four of him with the group, I found myself feeling guilty when we went on holiday for a week and Tucker just had me and my partner for company, rather than Emma and all of his doggie buddies. My god was he happy to see Emma when she picked him up after that!

As an owner, I feel reassured by Emma's use of trial days, ensuring that dogs fit into the group, but also knowing dogs (and owners!!) are given a good shot at it if some remedial work is required by both parties to smooth the transition. I am very grateful to Emma for all of the *incredibly* hard work she puts in to ensure the wellbeing of the group.

As already mentioned, the setup at Noah's Bark is absolutely amazing and needs to be seen. It is doggy heaven: a gigantic garden, garden cabin that's like a large living room, and lovely home. The doggos are also constructively engaged in play, e.g. doing scent work in a ballpit, and taken out for walks as suits their energy levels.

Emma always takes great care to update us on how Tucker is doing, and sends the cutest photos and videos that really brighten your day, and reassure us that our dog is having an exceptionally nice time!

I dread to think what we would have done without Emma. We feel so lucky that she had a space in the group when we needed it. I keep my fingers crossed that she never moves.

I know she covers SE22, though at the moment that's listed as "Peckham Rye" rather than East Dulwich, and areas south thereof. Postcodes she covers listed in full here: https://www.noahsbarkuk.com/get-in-touch

I also know that sometimes she gets calls from people who want ad hoc care arrangements for their doggos. She doesn't do this and I'm very glad she doesn't as an owner. It's so much more fun for the dogs when the pack is more consistent. There are, however, some dogs that attend only a couple of days a week, as well as ones like Tucker who are there five days a week. I found the price she charges to be very fair for the quality of the service and competitive with other daycares. Given the amount extra for daycare versus walks, I think it's well worth it. She also does boarding.

Having talked to her about it, I know Emma has a couple of free spots at the moment due to owners moving house and I want to make sure the business works for her as it works so well for us!

Any questions, feel free to message me.

This is Emma's website: https://www.noahsbarkuk.com/